Kitchen-tool



E. VERSTRAETE.

KITCHEN TOOL. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 12, 1919.

Patented Jan, 4- 192114,

IIVVE/V TOR WI T/VESSES MC /KZW ATTORNEYS EDMOND VERSTB/AETE, OF BELLEVILLE, NEW d'ERSEY.

KITCHEN-TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

Applicationfiled December 12, 1919. Serial No. 344,281.

T 0 all w hon it may concern I Be it known that I, EDMOND VERSTRAETE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Belleville, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and Improved Kitchen-Tools, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to a tool for use in kitchens and in cooking over a camp fire or the like, and more particularly relates to a tool having a tosser element for tossing pancakes or turning or lifting other food for which a broad blade is required.

An object of my invention is to combine with elements incidental to a pancake tosser coacting elements, whereby to produce a tool providing effective and convenient means of simple form for lifting pot or pan covers of different kinds or for lifting small cooking utensils.

Reference is to be. had to the accompany ing drawings forming a part of this specifi' cation, it being understood that the drawings aremerely illustrative of one example of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tool embodying my invention;

Fig. 2. is a longitudinal vertical section thereof, showing the same as applied to a cover'of aparticular type, part of which is shown in vertical section;

Fig. 8 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the tool as employed for lifting another type of cover;

Fig.4 is a cross section on the line 4 1,

Fig. 1, showing the use of the tool for lift ing a cooking utensilby engaging the bail thereof; 1 n

Fig. 5 is a side elevationof the wire member employed in forming a portion of the tool, said wire final bending thereof,the view indicating in dotted lines the original bend formed in said wire.

In carrying out my invention in practice, in accordance with the illustrated example a broad fiat blade 10 is provided of sheet metal, similar in general to the blade of a pancake tosser. Theblade is carried by a frame which in the preferred form presents wire side members 11 convergent toward the rear end and secured in a suitable handle 12. The bladelO may be fastened to the arms 11 at the front ends of the latter in any suitable manner, there being shown being shown before the i side edge portions 13 on the blade turned over onto said side members and crimped or indented as at 1 1 to give interengagement between the side members and the blade.

In the rear edge of the blade a flaring slot or notch 15 is formed, the side edges being convergent forwardly. The material at the slot 15 is depressed as at 16, the depression continuing in the material of the blade 10 in front of the slot 15 presenting approximately a round depression 17. and the side edges of the slot and depressed portion 17 are preferably beveled. The provision of the slot 15 at the rear edge adapts the blade for the lifting of cover A, Fig. 3 of the type having a knob handle a presenting a zone of reduced diameter so that the blade may be engaged by a relative rearward movement with the knob. The taper of the slot adapts it to accommodate knobs of different diameters, the material of the blade 10 at the sides of the slot properly seating the knob. The end of the slot 15 extends to the approximate center of the depressed portion 17 of the blade, which depressed portion is defined by an arcuate beveled edge portion 18 so that said depressed portion accommodates knobs of the sizes most commonly employed.

In order to lift a pot cover, such as that partly indicated at A in Fig. 2 and having a looped lift handle a, I provide an element 19 coordinated with the blade 10 and frame 11 for engaging said handle. The lifting element 19 is generally in the form of a looped length of wire more or less curved longitudinally in a vertical plane to have a shallow hook form, said element extending forwardly from the front end of handle 12, and suitably fastened to the latter. The lifting element 19 terminates at its forward free end '11 the plane or approximately in the plane of the frame 11 and is disposed between the side arms of said frame and spaced from the rear edge of the blade a sufficient distance for the tool to be dropped over the handle a so that by a forward movement of the tool the lift member 19 may be entered beneath said handle as shown in Fig. 2, the depression presented by said lifting element serving to retain the cover in position. element 19 are so spaced from the side members 11 of the frame that the ends of the cover handle a may pass between the lifting The sides of the lifting element and said side members in the for ward movement of the tool when engaged in said handle. In the engagement of the lifting elements 19 with handle a the blade 10 may be placed on top of said handle and this aids in the engagement of the handle sections; as the latter arrives at the space between the lifting element and the rear edge of the blade, the tool automatically drops for the handle a to protrude above the element 19, thereby permitting the latter to move forwardly through said handle. The element 19 serves also for engaging the bail a (Fig. 4c) of a small cooking vessel.

For the purpose of simplifying the construction of the tool and at the same time to obtain the desired strength and lightness, the frame 11 and lifting element 19 are formed integrally from a single piece of wire which is formed by bending a returned piece of wire on itself to produce the side arms 11 at one end and produce the element 19 after which the doubled wire is again returned on itself from an intermediate point that will provide on said frame and lifting element tangs 11, 19 integral with each other of a length to extend a proper distance into the handle 12. The piece of wire from which the frame and lifting element are formed is first subjected to dies to give it the general bends necessary for curving the lifting element 19 and producing the parallel front ends of side members 11 for en gaging the members 13 of blade 10 and is then returned on itself to produce the side members 11 and the general loop of the lifting element 19 as seen in full lines in side view of Fig. 5. The double wire is then bent to present the element 19 forwardly as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 5, which latter bending produces an enlarged rear end as indicated at 20, Fig. 5, unsuitable for entering tightlyinto the handle 12. In order that the combined tangs 11 19 may be well adapted to be driven into the handle 12, opposite surfaces of the bent portion 20 are ground down into flat form and preferably beveled as at 20 Fig. 2. A ferrule 21 snugly encircles the side arms 11 and the side members of the lifting element 19 are converged into close relation adjacent at the front end of the handle 12, said ferrule being disposed beyond the reduced forward end 22 of the handle provided with the usual handle ferrule 23. Thus, the direct engagement of the ferrule 21 binds the members of the frame and lifting element into close relation taking up any separating strains exerted thereon and relieving the handle 12 of the strains.

The space between the lifting element 19 and the rear edge of the blade 10 accommodates also a knob such as a, Fig. 3, permitting the knob to occupy a position extending above the plane of the blade so that upon a rearward movement of the blade the reduced portion'of the knob may enter the slot 15.

The above described construction provides a combination tool for lifting a pot or pan cover, for example, from a frying pan so that the user may first lift the hot cover from the pan, lay the cover on a stove or other convenient support, and then use the tool to turn eggs or other articles being fried. At the sametime the lifting features of the tool are coordinated with one another and with the blade 10 and its frame 11 in a manner to fully preserve the usefulness of the blade and at the same time to minimize the number of parts necessary to produce the lifting device.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 7

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A tool of the class described including a blade, a frame presenting side arms to which said blade is secured, a handle to which the rear end of said frame is secured, and a lifting element extending forwardly from the handle close to the plane of said frame, the front end of said lifting element being spaced from the rear edge of the blade sufiicient to accommodate the handle of a pot cover or the like, and position the same for engagement by said lifting element upon a forward movement of the tool.

2. A tool of the class described including a blade, a frame presenting side arms to which said blade is secured, a handle to which the rear end of said frame is secured, and a liftingelement extending forwardly from the handle and curved longitudinally to present a depressed upper surface, said lifting element terminating at its front end in approximately the horizontal plane of said side members and being spaced from the rear edge of the blade to accommodate the handle of a pot cover or the like for positioning the latter for engagement by said lifting element upon a forward move ment of the tool.

3. A tool of the class described presenting spaced side arms convergent at their rear ends, and a longitudinally curved lifting element adjacent to the plane of said side arms and of less width than the distance between the side arms, said side arms and said lifting element being continued at its rear end with the ends of theside arms and disposed at the under side thereof, the two presenting tangs lying close together, and a handle in which said tangs are secured.

4. A tool of the class described including a frame presenting side members, and a lifting element adjacent to said side members,

the sides of the lifting element and the side members being convergent, lying in close relation at their rear ends, a handle on said rear ends, and a ferrule directly embracing the side members of the frame and the sides of said lifting device in front of said handle.

5. A tool of the class described including a broad blade, and a handled frame presenting side members to which said blade is secured, said blade having a notch in its rear edge to accommodate a handle of a pan or pot cover.

6. A tool of the class described including a broad blade, and a handled frame presenting side members to which said blade is secured, said blade having a notch in its rear edge to accommodate a handle of a pan or pot cover, said notch presenting convergent sides.

7. A tool of the class described including a broad blade, and a handled frame presenting side members to which said blade is secured, said blade having a notch 1n its rear edge to accommodate a handle of a pan or pot cover, the material of the blade adjacent to the sides of said notch being depressed.

8. A tool of the class described including a broad blade, and a handled frame presenting side members to which said blade is secured, said blade having a notch in its rear edge to accommodate the knob handle of a pan or pot cover, and there being a space between said side arms in the rear of the blade for accommodating the cover handle so that the handle may be entered in said notch by a rearward longitudinal movement of the tool.

9. A tool of the class described presenting side arms, a blade carried by said side arms at their forward ends, a handle on said side arms at the rear ends, a lifting element extending forwardly from said handle, said blade having a notch in its rear edge adapted to accommodate a knob handle on the cover of a kitchen vessel, there being a space presented between the side arms and between the front end of said lifting element and the rear edge of said blade to accommodate a handle so that the tool may be dropped over the handle and moved longitudinally to engage the same.

EDMOND VERSTRAETE. 

